Concerto for a squeaky chair
Good times are just around the corner for music enthusiasts as Warsaw's National Philharmonic has finally found the time and money to carry out renovations. The Philharmonic will now be able to offer performances without auditory extras such as squeaky chairs and a noisy floor.
It was obvious for years that refurbishing and renovating at least the concert hall was a must. "Nobody who comes here doubts that this place (the concert hall) demands renovation," said Lech Dzierzanowski, promotion director at the National Philharmonic. "But it is not possible to do it in a short period of time."
The brainchild of Leopold Kronenberg, a musician, composer, and son of the founder of Bank Handlowy, the original Warsaw Philharmonic was opened in 1901 and remained in private hands until World War II, when it was completely destroyed. After being reconstructed in 1955, the Warsaw Philharmonic was renamed the National Philharmonic and came under state patronage. It hasn't been refurbished since.
Until recently there was no compelling reason to start remodeling, although next year's centenary could have served as an impetus.
But the Philharmonic didn't end up having until next year to carry out renovations. The push came as a result of the International Chopin Piano Competition, which begins in five months. "We have to complete a major refurbishment by October," Dzierzanowski said, adding that there is no other place in Warsaw that could handle an event of this magnitude. "So that's why the sword of Damocles hanging above us is Oct. 4, which is when the competition starts," he said.
Music lovers are thrilled about the renovations. "The Philharmonic finally decided to do something!" said Agnieszka Mazur, a Warsaw University law student who visits the concert hall at least once a month. She said moving around in the old chairs during a concert had been a dangerous enterprise because the chairs make a lot of noise. "And the lack of air conditioning was disastrous," she added.
Dzierzanowski said the chairs in the concert hall will be the first item to be changed, followed by the floor in the concert hall and a new air conditioning system. The chairs' red velvet covering will be replaced by a new fabric of the same color.
A technical team had only one week to dismantle the 1,160 chairs that lined the concert hall. Four men started the work after the last concert of the 1999-2000 season on April 8.
"We have to move all chairs out of here as soon as possible because a special team is coming here in a week to replace the floor," said Mariusz Francuz, a member of the four-man technical team. After four days of work they disassembled nearly all of the chairs. "We have to divide the rows of chairs into three four-chair segments," Francuz said. But while dissembling was easy, taking them out of the hall may cause more difficulties. "The segments are quite heavy, so carrying them downstairs will be the biggest problem," Francuz said. "Carrying them from the concert hall will be not be onerous, but just think of those ones from the balconies ..."
In addition, a new organ will be installed in the improved Philharmonic. The old instrument has been taken apart and a new one will be installed in its old wooden frame. "The Philharmonic's organ wasn't high quality," Dzierzanowski said. "We were trying to avoid using it and that's why most organ concerts were held in churches."
Dzierzanowski also said that the renovations aren't cheap, although he wouldn't disclose the numbers involved. "We got money (for renovations) from the Culture Ministry," Dzierzanowski said. "Unfortunately, our sponsors are not interested in putting money up for renovations," but prefer to support specific concerts. The Philharmonic's sponsors, which include Bank Handlowy, Andersen Consulting and Nationale-Nederlanden, contributed zl. 1 million ($238, 095) last year.
